Luca Brasi
Luca Brasi was one of Vito Corleone's most trusted enforcers. Biography Luca Brasi was a feared enforcer for the Corleone family, known as one of the most dangerous men in the eastern underworld. Fluent in Italian and able to handle himself in any fight, he had a dark reputation among the underworld as a savage killer. Recruitment In the late 1920's, Brasi impregnated a young Irish prostitute and later murdered her, but did not stop there; on the day of his daughter's birth, he forced the midwife, Filomena under pain of death, to hurl his own daughter into a furnace, an act for which she never forgave herself, describing him as an unholy demon that night. He claimed that "None of that race should live." It was unknown whether he meant that it was because the child was half Irish, or that it was his child, and felt that he was doing the world a favor by removing his bloodline from it. Filomena was at first reluctant, but Luca slashed her arm with a knife and then she obliged and tossed it in the furnace after she did this she fled from the house sobbing. Filomena later left for Sicily, where she was employed by Lionele Tommasino. After that night, Brasi killed the young girl and allowed himself to be arrested. He tried to kill himself in his cell with a broken bottle by slashing his throat open but he didn't die, in the end he was rescued from prison by Vito Corleone, who saw Brasi as a potential asset. The tales of Brasi's prowess soon became legend. Luca's Legend One such incident involved Brasi killing off two of Al Capone's henchmen (one of whom was Willy Russo, brother of the future Don of Chicago, Louie Russo) hired to kill Don Corleone. Brasi subdued both of them and tied and gagged them with towels stuffed in their mouths. He then leisurely hacked one of them to pieces with a fireaxe. When he went to finish off the other one, he found that the man had gone through a shock convulsion and choked to death on the towel. Brasi's talent, it was said, was that he could do a job, or murder all by himself, without confederates or backup who might rat him out. Since Luca made sure to leave no witnesses either, this made a criminal conviction almost impossible. He is also known for killing, in two weeks, six men who attempted to kill Don Corleone. One of their men had managed to put the Don in the hospital, which prompted Luca's killing spree, and he might have continued had Vito not recovered enough to call him off. These six deaths ended the famous "Olive Oil War." His almost fanatical loyalty to Don Corleone was unquestioned, and was said to have killed a Corleone soldier just for making the Corleone family look bad. Brasi often claimed that he'd sooner kill himself than betray the Godfather. During the Pacification of New York, he killed Luciano Alioto as a warning to Alioto's family, who immediately sued for peace. Since Vito was the only one who could make Brasi stop a killing spree, this made the Godfather a far more risky Don to attempt killing than the others. The Wedding At Connie's wedding, Michael Corleone explains to his then girlfriend Kay Adams, the story of how Don Corleone helped his godson Johnny Fontane. Michael explains that his father went to convince bandleader Les Halley to release Johnny from a personal service contract that was holding back Johnny's singing career. After refusing an offer of $10,000 Don Corleone returned the next day with Luca Brasi and within an hour the bandleader signed a release for a second offer of only $1,000. Luca Brasi had held a gun to the bandleader's head while Don Corleone assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the release contract. Brasi did not expect to be invited to the wedding of the Don's daughter, since he normally avoided public contact with the Don to protect the Godfather's reputation. Luca was very suprised and grateful when he recieved an invitation, and spent a great deal of time deciding on how best to pay his respects to his mafia benefactor. He gave a large sum for Connie's bridal purse directly to Vito, which was said to be the largest given by any of the guests . Secret Assignment Shortly before Vito Corleone is shot, Brasi was summoned by the Don, who intends to draw out rival mobster Virgil Sollozzo and the rest of the Don's enemies by having Luca pretend he had switched allegiances. Luca hung around Bruno Tattaglia's nightclub, eventually going to bed with one of his bargirls and complaining about not making much money, knowing that word would eventually get back to Bruno. When Bruno offers a meeting, Luca drives to the meeting, wearing a bulletproof vest. At this time, Luca had begun training Aldo Trapani, son of former enforcer Johnny Trapani, as his protege, and had Trapani accompany him in case things went awry. Murder Luca's proudly voices his loyalty to Sollozzo whilst discussing a deal with him, telling him that he'd never go against Don Corleone, that he's a man he respects. Sollozzo, after promising friendship, a job, and $50,000, then rams a knife into Luca's hand, pinning it to the bar as Tattaglia's henchmen garrottes him from behind. The murder is avenged by Aldo Trapani, who is unable to report the death to the Corleones until the following morning. With Brasi dead, Sollozzo's men were free to attempt a hit on Don Corleone without fear of Luca hunting them down later. After Vito is shot, Sonny and the rest of the Corleones fail to contact Luca, but think this means that the brutal enforcer is already out looking for reprisal, and Sonny feels confident that his father's would-be assassins will soon be dead. A Sicilian message is later sent to the Corleone family: a fish wrapped in Brasi's bulletproof vest. The meaning is made clear to the Corleones: "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes." Brasi's role as personal enforcer/bodyguard to the Don was later filled by Al Neri. Tom Hagen once said to Michael following the completion of Neri's training, "Well, now you've got your Luca." Luca's old safehouse remained primarily vacant after his death until 1959 when Michael gives it to Dominic to use, and later Vincenzo Pentangeli briefly stays in it while awaiting to appear at Michael's 1959 trial. Personality and traits Luca was shown to be the "strong, silent type", as he very little spoke. When he did it was either to Don Vito, his family, or when he did a job that required him to speak. He was also shown to be very sadistic when it came to killing, as he once threw a baby, from the woman he impregnated, into an oven. He was strong but also wise, as he brought a bullet-proof vest with him everywhere. This would, however, be useless as he was strangled to death with a garrote wire. He was not as bright as he was street smart, and he would often have to rehearse what he said to someone before speaking with them. Behind the scenes Whilst Luca is often labelled as an enforcer, in the novel it is implied that he definitely has more power and respect than the average enforcer and is a made man in the Corleone crime family. However, it is left unclear as to what his official ranking is. In the novel both he and Al Neri are labelled as "special" and that they are the most trusted, most loyal, deadliest and the most feared member of the family. After the shooting of Vito even Sonny voices his concern regarding Luca when they have difficulty contacting him. In the film Sonny states that they'd be in a lot of trouble if Luca's turned against them. According to the novel, it was Luca Brasi who snuck into Woltz mansion, kills and decapetates Khartoum and places the head in Woltz bed. However, in the video game it's Rocco and Aldo who sneak in to do that. Brasi, Luca Brasi, Luca Brasi, Luca